<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I have browsed around for a while, but did not really find my question/issue (or a similar one); sorry if it should be a repetition.</p>
<p>I am a graduate of a German university looking for a PhD school in the US, likely in political science. While I would be willing to accumulate some debt through a loan, I would need and prefer a program that allows teaching / research for waiving tuition fees and a grant for housing / living costs. A smaller school in a smaller town would be preferable, but is not a requirement. Some reputation for their political science department would of course be nice. Since the student visa I would have to get would not allow me to work outside the university, making money through a part-time job would be impossible, as I understand it.</p>
<p>My degree is the German equivalent of a M.A. in political science (major), American studies, and sociology (minors). The German system does not really calculate a GPA from all classes ever taken, it instead calculates a final score / GPA from the grade you received for your thesis, and the final written and oral examinations in both major and minors. My final GPA would transfer to a 3.4 in the American system (the German one uses 1 to 5, 1 being the best), and I was among the top 5% graduates. Unfortunately, my written exam in political science was not exactly great, the oral one was good, and the thesis was very good.</p>
<p>I have since worked for the US Department of State in a potentially relevant position, and have excellent letters of recommendation from both former supervisors within DoS, and former professors.</p>
<p>Can anyone assess my chances of getting into a good program? I am in the process of selecting schools worth applying to, based on how appealing their programs are, and what financial aid they offer (competitive schools with high-ranking programs such as Northwestern or Vanderbilt e.g. offer really generous packages). My goal is to find about 10 and narrow them down to maybe 5 or 6, including 2 safety schools, if there is such a thing for international students at all.</p>
<p>Other things to figure out would be whether or not I need to take the GRE at all, which of course would require further preparation.</p>
<p>I am grateful for any comments and suggestions!</p>